Registration and Morning Refreshments

Pre-Function Room

Opening Remarks

Multi-Purpose Room

Bob Samson, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services, New York State

View Presentation Here

Keynote – Not Your Mother's Presentation on Millennials

Multi-Purpose Room

Gabrielle Bosché, Millennial Expert, The Millennial Solution

America's Millennial expert will share on absolute best practices to engage and motivate the largest generation in America. Zero theory is allowed in this fast-paced presentation sharing only the action-ready solutions you need to maximize your multi-generational workforce. Discover what makes the next generation tick including the science behind short attention spans, social media addiction and how to motivate America's largest generation. Plus, Gabrielle will speak to the heart of what this means for the public technology sector – including current and future consumer and hiring trends. Understand the four different types of Millennials and master the key motivational techniques to tying their purpose to your productivity.

Networking Break

Pre-Function Room

Concurrent Sessions

Can We Talk? Effective Communications to Connect, Engage, and Build Stronger Business Relations

Meeting Room 2A

Active effective communication is critical in any organization and is especially valuable for those with a customer-focused mission. Communication can be greatly improved by demonstrating empathy and understanding of others perspectives, and utilizing terminology and concepts familiar to those we are communicating with. This session will deliver real-world strategies and examples for improving communication to facilitate information flow, establish mutual understanding and trust, engage stakeholders and manage expectations, and build better relationships internally and with external customers and partners.

Brian Bosché, Purpose & Retention Expert, The Millennial Solution

Denny Crouch, Leadership Consultant, State and Local Government, CSRA

Drew Hanchett, Business Director, Grants and Licensing Portfolio, Information Technology Services, New York State

Dianne Henk, Director of Workforce Transformation, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, New York State

Strategic Leadership in a Ring of Fire

Meeting Room 2B

Being a great leader requires creating a strategy and vision for your organization or team that encompasses building business value, improving efficiency, capability, and meeting customer needs while controlling or reducing costs. However, building strategy is hard because defining the future is hard. And even after the strategy has been defined, it’s even harder to keep your strategic thinking alive when you are surrounded by fire drills. You need patience + persistence + politicking to make it happen. This session will outline some of the most important considerations in defining organizational strategy and turning strategy into operational planning and execution. You will hear from thought leaders and government executives on how strategy differs from operations and the role of teamwork in making that happen.

Moderator: Joan Sullivan, Executive Director, NYS Forum

Theresa Egan, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Department of Motor Vehicles, New York State

Karen Geduldig, Executive Deputy Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services, New York State

Nonie Manion, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Department of Tax and Finance, New York State

Sheila Poole, Acting Commissioner, Office of Children and Family Services, New York State

Nick Psaki, Principal Engineer, Office of the CTO, Pure Storage

Leveraging IOT Innovation for Improving Citizen Service Outcomes

Meeting Room 2C

How can IoT add value to existing agency data and applications, and what new possibilities can this approach support in furthering an agency’s mission in delivering citizen services? Panelists from multiple disciplines will explore real-world projects and the challenges faced with the digitization of communities and infrastructure. Learn about the challenges of data management and ownership, security, and privacy as well as how to integrate IoT into your existing services and organizational structure.  Key take-aways include issues to consider, developing governance and strategy, lessons learned from recent projects, and where the technology is going.

Lisa M. Bobo, Chief Information Officer, City of Rochester

David Bressler, Vice President, Industry Solutions, NYC, NY, CA Technologies

View Bressler Presentation Here

Stephen Knox, Enterprise Cloud Architect, Public Sector North America, Oracle

Sharon Tate, Director of Infrastructure, Information Technology Department, Thruway Authority, New York State

Derek Werthmuller, Director, Technology Innovation and Services, Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany

Lunch

Multi-Purpose Room

Featured Speaker – Innovation Imperatives For IT Leaders

Multi-Purpose Room

Christina “CK” Kerley, Innovation Speaker and Specialist, Futurist

In this session, keynoter, futurist, and professor Christina “CK” Kerley will highlight the innovation imperatives that belong on your radar, in your plans, and at the forefront of your 2018 IT goals (and beyond).

Yesterday was about billions of smartphones – but tomorrow belongs to the trillions of smart things digitizing the physical world. The AI Arms Race is officially on, and IT leaders must turn their operations into “real-time, know-it-all organizations” just to keep pace. Digital transformation is our destination… and blockchains may be key in getting us there.

As headlines of job-killing robots abound, the real story escapes our view: Automation’s not taking our jobs away, it's giving us back our time. Freed from administrative tasks, these “CoBots” will let employees focus on creating new forms of value. And as this era of record-setting advancements unfolds, the most critical success factor won’t be technological: it will be uniquely human. A Reskilling Revolution – unrivaled in size, scope, and scale – will ensure the future prosperity of our citizens, and the economic supremacy of our country.

Networking Break

Pre-Function Room

General Session – Successfully Engaging a Diverse Workforce

Multi-Purpose Room

One of the most challenging aspects of managing and retaining diversity in the workplace is getting each group to respect the unique talents of the other. People of varying backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, ages and experiences bring unique perspectives helping to innovate, evaluate and find solutions. It can be magic. It can also be the root of conflict. In this session diverse NYS IT professionals come together to discuss their experiences. They are all on the hot seat as the panel sets to break assumptions and shine a light on today’s rapidly changing professional landscape and how to tap into the hidden power of employees’ differences to create a work environment where everyone thrives.

Moderator: Gabrielle Bosché, Millennial Expert, The Millennial Solution

Chantal Kamya, Internal Communications Lead, Andela

Joel Lombardi, Director, Procurement and Contracting Services, Information Technology Services, New York State

Shinu Shilesh, Director, Affirmative Action Programs, Information Technology Services, New York State

Networking Reception

Pre-Function Room

Everyone is invited! Please join in networking with your peers over refreshments.

Registration and Morning Refreshments

Pre-Function Room

Keynote – Bringing the “It Factor” to IT

Multi-Purpose Room

Anthony Huey, President, Reputation Management Associates (@anthonyhuey)

We’ve all met someone with intangible qualities that draw others in and make them say, “Wow!” Some call it charisma, magnetism, or the “It Factor,” but it’s nearly impossible to define. You can’t touch the It Factor, but you can immediately feel when someone has it. Why do some leaders have this seemingly magical presence, while too many of us come across as extraordinarily ordinary? Anthony Huey has spent the last 20 years as a communications coach answering this question by studying thousands of executives and the qualities that turn managers into inspirational leaders. He has discovered that most anyone can attain some level of the It Factor by understanding and changing how they are perceived while at the same time ratcheting up the willingness to influence and inspire those around them. This fast-paced and interactive keynote address provides practical and immediately implementable approaches to bringing the It Factor not just to you personally but to your organization.

View Supplemental Information Packet Here

Networking Break

Pre-Function Room

Concurrent Sessions

Unlocking Vendor Value

Meeting Room 2A

Greater emphasis on the need to deploy solutions faster and the digital economy has driven radical changes to how Information Technology is managed. Has your vendor partnership strategy changed to keep up with this rapid transformation? This interactive session will guide you to better understand vendor management and help you move towards new models of engagement, partnering, and collaboration with your vendor partners. Case studies on performance and risk reduction will be featured that showcase “Innovation that Matters”.

Moderator: Rajiv Rao, Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Services, New York State

Gary Buonacorsi, Chief Technology Officer, State & Local Government, Dell EMC

Moses Kamya, Chief Information Officer, Office of the Attorney General, New York State

Robert Fried, Director, Services Delivery, CA Technologies

Sandeep Randhawa, Senior Director, Americas SEs, Nutanix

Bob Samson, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services, New York State

Crisis Leadership

Meeting Room 2B

Do you find yourself in constant crisis… always putting out one fire only to find that another has sprung up? This session will cover responding to a crisis from both the front lines and from the perspective of a vendor providing support. It will cover the steps that everyone should take in the moments between crises; what steps you can take to avoid potential issues; and how to minimize the impact when they occur. It will review the process of crisis management and present best practices in resolution, and how you, as an IT Leader, can contribute.

Moderator: Anthony Huey, President, Reputation Management Associates

Brandon Finney, Professional Services Manager, CrowdStrike

Ben Hebert, Manager, Incident Management, Information Technology Services, New York State

Lisa Schreiber, Vice President, NA Support Sales and Customer Success, Oracle

Achieving Success Using Results-Based Management

Meeting Room 2C

Results-based management is an approach that focuses on outcomes. Focusing on performance and results is challenging in the public sector, but the benefits are substantial. Hear more about how this approach is currently being used within New York State agencies, as well as some practical guidelines to help you add these techniques to your toolbox.

Moderator: Joan Sullivan, Executive Director, NYS Forum

Jeffrey Grugan, Zone Manager – End User Services, Information Technology Services, New York State

Anthony Kesseling, Implementation/Project Manager, Aging and Disabilities Cluster – ITS Business Solutions, Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), New York State

Andrew Morris, Director, Tax Processing Division, Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State

Charles Stearns, Manager of IT Services II, Aging and Disabilities Cluster - ITS Business Solutions, Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), New York State

View Presentation Here

Lunch

Multi-Purpose Room

Featured Speaker – I See Potential in You!

Multi-Purpose Room

Thurl Bailey, Inspirational Speaker & Retired Professional Basketball Player (@bigTbailey)

How those 5 words changed my life!

How can we best discover how much potential we have as individuals and then use that potential collectively to win as a team? The answer may lay in our past.

Professional speaker, broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and University of Utah, an actor, and an award-winning singer/song writer, Thurl Bailey attended North Carolina State University and was a key player in the 'Wolfpacks' miracle run to the 1983 NCAA Championship. That same year, Thurl led NC State in both scoring and rebounds. The Utah Jazz drafted Thurl in 1983 as the 7th pick of the draft. Jazz management reported that he was selected for the quality of his character, as well as the quality of his game. This was the beginning of 16 years of playing professional basketball – 12 of those years in the NBA.

Networking Break

Pre-Function Room

Concurrent Sessions

Leading Modern Development Teams

Meeting Room 2A

As technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing speed, modern development teams need to work both harder and smarter. Gone are the days of sitting in a room discussing requirements, it is now crucial for teams to employ creative avenues for first-hand observation and user feedback, including shadowing staff, creating focus groups, soft launches, and advanced development practices designed to create an iterative feedback loop. Attend this session to get new ideas and learn how to lead your team to develop successful products that improve business processes by including the most critical participants.

Moderator: Karen Parrish, Vice President, New York State Integrated Account, IBM

Margaret K. Kelly, Assistant Director, Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture & Markets, New York State

Dani Kennedy, Senior Ux/Design Lead, Customer Experience and Growth, IBM

Dan Reid, Senior Solution Strategist, Continuous Delivery, CA Technologies

Richard Valenti, Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Business Solutions, Information Technology Services, New York State

View Presentation Here

Skills Sets for the Future: Preparing for What Comes Next

Meeting Room 2B

Attendees will leave the session with specific ideas on how to advance their own career through continuous employee training and development, as well as learning more about the technical and non-technical skills employers are looking for. A panel of government and industry speakers will share their perspectives on emerging technology trends, the skills needed for career advancement, what makes a well-rounded employee, and tips for helping build an engaging workplace that fosters opportunities for new skills development

Moderator: Theresa Papa, Chief Administrative Officer, Information Technology Services, New York State

Dean Hill, Open Projects Manager, Senate Technology Services, New York State Senate

Danielle Miller, Director of Human Resources Services, Information Technology Services, New York State

Nick Psaki, Principal Engineer, Office of the CTO, Pure Storage

View Presentation Here

View Slides Here

Business Strategy: Achieving the Program Mission

Meeting Room 2C

Effective leadership requires business acumen. What exactly is business acumen?

The Financial Times describes business acumen as the “keenness and speed in understanding and deciding on a business situation”. It is essentially understanding key factors behind issues related to a specific action and the ability to comprehend the consequences of particular actions. It’s the ability to pick the right reactions and actions in complex situations. In the context of technology leadership, it is understanding the goals of government programs and how they operate so that you can help bring solutions and strategies that contribute to the success of those programs.

This panel discussion will focus on the skills business acumen requires, how you can develop those skills, and how they form the foundation for a strong partnership between government business teams and IT.

Moderator: Karen Starke, Chief Information Officer, Education Department, New York State

Gary Buonacorsi, Chief Technology Officer, State & Local Government, Dell EMC

Debora Brown-Johnson, Assistant Commissioner, Education Department, New York State

Mathan Jebaraj, Director of Business Solutions, Education Department, New York State

Break

The IT Leadership Academy Awards Program and Reception

Multi-Purpose Room

Conference times, agenda, and speakers are subject to change.